Earlier today, global consulting giant Deloitte announced the launch of day-long ‘social business innovation’ workshops, in which Deloitte consultants would analyze a client’s data and identify opportunities for social software implementation or optimization.
I applaud this move because ‘social’ can mean so many different things for so many different organizations, and the idea of a workshop to kick things off is a great idea (for those who’ve worked with me in the past, you know the premium I place on education, training, and demonstration).
For some companies, of course, they may need a whole week of analysis, at least, before deciding to embark on a new social strategy.
“Our workshops are designed to give organizations the head start they need to begin realizing business value from social technology,” said Andy Main, principal of Deloitte Consulting, in the press release.
My guess, however, is that for a typical client Deloitte would want to work with, that client has already begun doing social in one way or another.
Another curious point is Deloitte’s proud alliance with Salesforce.com. Close to three years ago, Deloitte was a proud customer of enterprise social network Yammer, which is a direct competitor to Salesforce.com’s Chatter product. Here is the CEO of Deloitte Digital discussing the consulting firm’s Yammer implementation:
I’ll be watching closely to see if Yammer continues at Deloitte, or if Chatter will take over.
As a former analyst, and having spoken with both vendors, it is quite possible — and sometimes necessary — for a company to have both enterprise social networks running simultaneously. More on this in a subsequent blogpost.
Also, gotta love Deloitte’s spending (at least) six figures for a WSJ.com CIO Journal microsite promoting its focus on social — it’s quite impressive.
Perhaps someday JXB1 will partner with Deloitte, especially on smaller, midsize clients. That could be a win-win for everyone.
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